HB3961 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 04436 RLC 14454 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3961

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

50 ILCS 705/8.1	from Ch. 85, par. 508.1
50 ILCS 705/10.25 new
30 ILCS 805/8.45 new

Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Provides that no probationary police officer beginning employment after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall receive a permanent appointment as a law enforcement officer unless he or she shall have obtained a bachelor's degree with a major or minor in social work. Provides that a law enforcement agency that offers tuition reimbursements for permanent police officers to go to school must also allow permanent police officers to request retroactively up to two years of tuition reimbursement for college or police academy tuition that was incurred before being hired as a police officer at the law enforcement agency only if the police officer qualified for financial aid while attending college or police academy. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY	HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY	HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Police Training Act is amended by changing Section 8.1 and by adding Section 10.25 as follows:

(50 ILCS 705/8.1) (from Ch. 85, par. 508.1)

Sec. 8.1. Full-time police and county corrections officers.

(a) After January 1, 1976, no person shall receive a permanent appointment as a law enforcement officer as defined in this Act nor shall any person receive, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1984, a permanent appointment as a county corrections officer unless that person has been awarded, within 6 months of his or her initial full-time employment, a certificate attesting to his or her successful completion of the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement and County Correctional Training Course as prescribed by the Board; or has been awarded a certificate attesting to his or her satisfactory completion of a training program of similar content and number of hours and which course has been found acceptable by the Board under the provisions of this Act; or by reason of extensive prior law enforcement or county corrections experience the basic training requirement is determined by the Board to be illogical and unreasonable.

If such training is required and not completed within the applicable 6 months, then the officer must forfeit his or her position, or the employing agency must obtain a waiver from the Board extending the period for compliance. Such waiver shall be issued only for good and justifiable reasons, and in no case shall extend more than 90 days beyond the initial 6 months. Any hiring agency that fails to train a law enforcement officer within this period shall be prohibited from employing this individual in a law enforcement capacity for one year from the date training was to be completed. If an agency again fails to train the individual a second time, the agency shall be permanently barred from employing this individual in a law enforcement capacity.

(a-5) No probationary police officer beginning employment after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly shall receive a permanent appointment as a law enforcement officer as defined in this Act unless he or she shall have obtained a bachelor's degree with a major or minor in social work.

(b) No provision of this Section shall be construed to mean that a law enforcement officer employed by a local governmental agency at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act, either as a probationary police officer or as a permanent police officer, shall require certification under the provisions of this Section. No provision of this Section shall be construed to mean that a county corrections officer employed by a local governmental agency at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1984, either as a probationary county corrections or as a permanent county corrections officer, shall require certification under the provisions of this Section. No provision of this Section shall be construed to apply to certification of elected county sheriffs.

(c) This Section does not apply to part-time police officers or probationary part-time police officers.

(Source: P.A. 101-187, eff. 1-1-20.)

(50 ILCS 705/10.25 new)

Sec. 10.25. Tuition reimbursement. If a law enforcement agency offers tuition reimbursements for permanent police officers to go to school, then they must also allow permanent police officers to request retroactively up to two years of tuition reimbursement for college or police academy tuition that was incurred before being hired as a police officer at the law enforcement agency only if the police officer qualified for financial aid while attending college or police academy.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.45 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.45 new)

Sec. 8.45. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.